Ride of Ruin

The Message

Cole didn’t panic.

Cole never panicked.

But something in the way he stood — shoulders tight, jaw set, eyes sharper than usual — told me whatever he’d seen wasn’t just bad.

It was catastrophic.

I stepped closer. “Cole… what did they say?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he turned the laptop toward me. A single line glowed on the screen, stark and cold.

WE WANT HER BACK.

My stomach dropped.

Cole clicked the trackpad. Another message appeared.

TONIGHT.

Then another.

OR WE COME FOR ALL OF YOU.

My breath caught. “They know you’re here. They know I’m here. They know—”

Cole closed the laptop gently, like he was afraid the words might crawl out of the screen if he didn’t shut them away.

“They know too much,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard. “What do we do?”

Cole exhaled slowly. “We wait.”

“Wait?” My voice cracked. “For what?”

“For Lucien,” he said. “He’ll decide the next move.”

I paced the room, panic clawing up my throat. “They’re threatening you because of me.”

Cole’s gaze softened. “They were threatening us before you arrived. You didn’t cause this.”

“But I made it worse.”

“No,” he said firmly. “Elias made it worse.”

I stopped pacing. “Why does he want me back so badly?”

Cole hesitated — something he almost never did. “Because you know things he can’t risk getting out.”

“I don’t—”

“You do,” Cole said. “You saw the weapons. You saw the money. You saw the men he met with. You saw the documents he tried to hide.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t understand any of it.”

“But you could,” Cole said. “You’re smart. You’re observant. You’re dangerous to him.”

Dangerous.

Me.

The girl who ran.

I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to be.”

Cole stepped closer. “Aria, listen to me. You didn’t choose this. But you’re in it now. And we’re not letting anything happen to you.”

I opened my mouth to respond — but the front door slammed open.

Cole’s head snapped toward the hallway.

Footsteps. Heavy. Fast.

Then Lucien appeared.

He looked like a storm given human form — hair damp, jaw clenched, eyes burning with a fury that made the room feel too small.

“Cole,” he said. “Report.”

Cole handed him the laptop.

Lucien read the messages. His expression didn’t change — but the air around him did. It tightened. Darkened. Heated.

He closed the laptop with a soft click that felt louder than a gunshot.

“They want her back,” he said.

Cole nodded. “Tonight.”

Lucien’s jaw flexed. “They’re not getting her.”

He turned to me.

“Aria.”

My heart jumped. “Yes?”

“You stay with Cole. You don’t leave this house. You don’t open the door. You don’t answer anything.”

I swallowed. “Lucien—”

He stepped closer, towering over me. “No matter what you hear tonight, you stay inside.”

My pulse raced. “What am I going to hear?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

Jax burst through the doorway next, carrying two guns and a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “Prez, we’re ready.”

Rhett followed, silent, steady, lethal.

Lucien looked at them. “We move now.”

Cole frowned. “Now? Sundown was the plan.”

“They changed the timeline,” Lucien said. “So we change ours.”

Jax cracked his neck. “Finally.”

Rhett checked his weapon. “Let’s end this.”

Lucien turned back to me.

His voice dropped to a low rumble. “Aria.”

I stepped closer without meaning to. “Yes?”

He brushed his thumb across my cheek — a touch so gentle it made my chest ache.

“You’re safe here,” he said. “I swear it.”

My breath trembled. “Please be careful.”

Lucien’s eyes softened — just barely. “I’ll come back.”

Jax winked. “We all will.”

Rhett nodded. “Count on it.”

Cole placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll stay with her.”

Lucien held my gaze for one more heartbeat — one more moment that felt like a promise, a claim, a vow.

Then he turned.

“Serpents,” he said, voice sharp and lethal. “Let’s ride.”

The door opened.

Wind rushed in.

Rain began again — soft, steady, like the world was warning us.

Lucien stepped into the storm.

Rhett followed.

Jax laughed under his breath and disappeared into the night.

The door closed behind them.

Cole locked it twice, then turned to me.

“Aria,” he said quietly, “sit down.”

I swallowed. “Why?”

Cole exhaled.

“Because the Vipers aren’t the only ones coming tonight.”

And the look in his eyes told me the real danger hadn’t even arrived yet.